FEBRUARY 26: The Browns have made this proposal, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. Cleveland, which previously proposed a measure to push the trade deadline back (which eventually passed), would need 24 votes in the ownership ranks for this to pass. Depending how owners proceed, more trade opportunities could emerge beginning this offseason.
FEBRUARY 10: As things currently stand, NFL teams are permitted to trade draft picks no further than three years into the future. That could soon change. 
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (video link), ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported there will be a push from at least one team to extend the range for draft picks being dealt. Efforts will be made for selections as many as five years down the road to be allowed in trades, per Schefter. This will be something to monitor during next month’s league meetings.
Any expansion of trade flexibility would represent a shift in the direction of the NBA. That league’s rules allow for picks up to seven years in the future to be dealt. It should be kept in mind, though, that the Stepien Rule applies limits to how often teams can trade away a first-round pick. As a result of the rule, NBA teams cannot trade future first-round selections in consecutive years.
No such rule currently exists in the NFL. If things were to change this spring, however, a similar provision may receive consideration. Any widening of the range for draft capital to be traded – and its associated conditions – could of course lead to a change in roster-building strategy. Largely speaking, teams around the NFL attempt to remain competitive from one year to the next (due in large part to the requirement they spend close to the salary cap over any three-year period).
That approach could be altered to an extent if collecting large amounts of draft capital over an extended period became a viable option for rebuilding franchises. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see if contending teams became increasingly willing to part with picks in the distant future to facilitate win-now moves on a more frequent basis. Recent years have seen an uptick in trades leading up to the deadline, while blockbuster swaps in the offseason will no doubt remain possible in any given year no matter the circumstances.
The most recent case which saw an NFL team trade picks three years into the future was the Browns-Texans Deshaun Watson deal. Cleveland sent Houston a package highlighted by first-round selections in three consecutive years. The team would have been able to spread those picks out over a longer period (provided the Texans had been amenable to it, of course) had the range for pick trades been longer. When rule changes are considered during the spring, the potential for things to change on this front will be something to watch closely.
For reminders, last offseason we were told how great this QB draft class will be. Fernando and…..? I don’t even remember Fernando’s mentioned last year.
It’s next class that has all the QBs, this was always a weak class.
“Next year” is almost always stronger. It’s like those “Free Beer Tomorrow” signs you see in some taverns.
No one ever said this class would be great. The general consensus on it before the college football season was that it might have Arch and then depth without high end QB prospects. Sellers, Allar, Klubnik, Nussmeier all had first two days of the draft buzz around them.
1st two rounds says enough. It was thought to be a popular class and went nowhere. But the point is if you’re trading out for potential high schoolers to be your savior, you failed.
Nope bad idea
NBAs rules on trading picks should be a prime example why this is a bad idea
NBA had to implement an every other year rule cause it got so bad with teams trading picks away
The NBA rules are a complete joke. To go down this path would be really stupid I agree totally. The Bulls had a trade with Cleveland worked out Vujevic for Jarret Allen. Failed because Vuj made 1 million more than Allen. Is this really where you want to end up? There are so many conditions attached to NBA draft picks that they are ultimately un transferable.
I have a feeling they “compromise” at 4 years. a standard negotiating tactic to ask for what you want + 1
Bad bad move
Your team has a crappy season and the QB walks or gets injured and the team traded away 1st pick and the best draft picks are franchise QB
Imagine if Arch Manning comes out in a year when the team with the top pick really doesn’t need a quarterback. We could see new levels of insanity.
This sounds like fun, but then you look at the NBA and it is the most complicated trade mechanism in all of sports due to swaps, pick protections, 3 team trades, salary aprons and all that.
Giving a team the chance to mortgage 5 years of picks could be the start of something awful.
Even now the pick swaps in the NFL are annoying and a part of most deals it seems like.
Please no. The NBA is a joke with their trades. They’ve also turned their regular season into a joke. Don’t be the NBA.
NFL loves bad moves and ideas
Jerry Jones on line 1
Really, really bad idea. No one should look at the NBA drafting and trading rules and try to emulate it. Half the league is tanking and some blatantly so. Picks being traded into the distant future, pick protections, circumventing the Stepien Rule via pick swaps, etc.
NFL doing this would diminish the value of picks. For example, with Maxx Crosby. Why wouldn’t you just trade three 1sts for him 3, 4, and 5 years from now? As an NFL GM, you know your time is limited anyway, why not mortgage the distant future?
I don’t think a GM should be able to trade picks beyond the years remaining on his own contract. If you have to replace a GM and he has mortgaged the future by trading away all the first round picks you’re not going to attract any good candidates.
Nooooooo. That is a joke that the NBA has become
It can’t be a coincidence that a trade for Joe Burrow will take four or five first round picks, and now a team wants to be able to do so.
Lol. Burrow is Andrew Luck 2.0. Nobody is trading any first round pick for him in addition to taking on a $48MM cap hit.
there would be multiple teams jumping to make that trade, if you are saying nobody would give up a 1st rd pick for him and take on his salary.
It’s rather amusing that the proposal came from Cleveland. They had 47 draft picks during the 5 year span 2013-17 and managed a 15-65 record.
I’m glad this was not in effect in 2022 or else the Browns would have given up FIVE 1st rounders for Watson.